Nitish Kumar dials Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, expresses gratitude: Cong sources

Patna (Bihar) [India], [India], August 9 (ANI): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who first resigned and then staked claim to form the government again with new allies, called up Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to express gratitude for their support.
"Nitish Kumar has called Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to express his gratitude for supporting Mahagathbandhan and forming the government in Bihar," Congress sources told ANI.
JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar is likely to take oath as Bihar's chief minister again on Wednesday afternoon, according to a tweet by his new alliance partner Rashtriya Janata Dal.
"The swearing-in ceremony of Honorable Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister will be held tomorrow at 2 pm at Raj Bhavan," the party said in a tweet from its official handle.
While the RJD tweet did not mention any names, it is widely expected that Nitish Kumar would be the chief minister while Tejashwi Yadav would become his deputy.
Today, Bihar's chief minister Nitish Kumar twice met Governor Phagu Chauhan, first to hand over his resignation as NDA chief minister and then after being elected leader of the RJD-led `Mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) to stake claim for the top once again.
Kumar said he submitted a list of 164 MLAs to the governor who will decide when the oath-taking can take place. The effective strength of the state Assembly is 242 and the magic figure is 122.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday lashed out JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar's decision to resign as the Chief Minister of Bihar and stake claim to form a government with Opposition parties in the state, saying that 'Kumar has disrespected the mandate of Bihar's people'. (ANI)